Breast-supportive garments may date as far back as ancient Greece. In the 16th century AD, corsets for pushing breasts upward to enhance cleavage came into fashion. The first mass-produced modern bras arrived in the late 19th century to early 20th century. Today, more than half of bras sold in the United States include underwires to give the wearer's breasts a desired shape, as well as to support the breasts from underneath. Many modern bras also incorporate push-up pads within the lower portion of the bra's cups to lift the wearer's breasts and thereby enhance cleavage. The WONDERBRA™ brand of bras dating back to the 1940s and the MIRACLE BRA™ brand that was made popular in the 1990s by VICTORIA'S SECRET™ are examples of such cleavage enhancing bras with underwires and push-up pads. However, both underwires and push-up pads often are, or become over the course of the day, uncomfortable to the wearer.
Modern bra manufacturers typically offer 36 or more sizes based on a band size and a cup size, where the band size typically corresponds to a length around a wearer's torso just below the breasts, and where the cup size corresponds to the volume of a breast, yet a cup size designation corresponds to different volumes for different band sizes (e.g., an A-cup for a 32 inch band size is the same size as a B-cup for a 30 inch band size). However, sizes can vary considerably by manufacturer, and retailers use various methods for measuring bra size for a wearer. Moreover, breasts vary significantly in size, shape, spacing, firmness, etc. Accordingly, it is very difficult for shoppers to be properly fitted and arrive at a proper bra size. When bras include underwires, which come in preset radii of curvature, it is even more difficult to arrive at a proper size and fit of bra. Ultimately, many women do not wear properly sized bras, resulting in discomfort and even medical issues (e.g., back problems) for women.